The officials and members of the Board of Directors (BODs) of Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) disbursed P3.1 million in "irregular and unnecessary" expenses for foreign travels in 2023, the Commission on Audit (COA) said in its annual audit report.
COA said that the CIAC officials failed to keep the number of delegates to the barest minimum and they lacked the approval of travel orders from authorized officials. They also claimed expenses for excess baggage despite incomplete basis and documentation, it said.
The board members and other officials made travels to Australia, Japan, and Canada in 2023 with the purpose of "Investment Mission" and "Benchmarking Mission" and incurred expenses totalling P3,102,162.87, it said.
Based on its report, COA said the first trip was to Australia from June 24 to July 1, 2023, It said the board members spent P339,834.40, while the manager of Strategy and Corporate Management Department and the manager of the Marketing Department spent P337,462.94 and P270,742.94, respectively.
It said the second trip was to Japan from Sept. 4 to 8, 2023. The vce president for Administration and Finance Group and the legal officer at the Office of the Assistant Vice President spent P134,076.93 each. The manager of the Marketing Department spent P134,356.93, it also said.
In the Cadana trip from Nov. 6 to 17 in 2023, the board members spent P291,435.30, while the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Vice President for Administration and Finance Group, Manager of Strategy and Corporate Management Department, Manager of Engineering Department, and PCEO Senior Executive Assistant each spent P291,435.30, COA said.
The audit report noted that there were three to six participants at each of the international conferences, and the CIAC failed to specify and justify the role of each member in the delegation.
COA pointed out: "The attendance of certain individuals can be considered unnecessary, as demonstrated by the absence of a letter of invitation extended to each participant. Moreover, the purpose of travel for all participants, as indicated in the request for travel authority, was to accomplish a similar objective, without specifying the distinctive and significant contributions of each individual participant."
At the same time, COA said the disbursements' supporting documents showed that the travel orders (TOs) for the participants lacked approval from the appropriate authority.
"The authorization for the travels and payment of travel expenses for the officers and members of the BOD was solely issued by the CIAC President and CEO, without any approval from the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and the Office of the President," it said.
Without the approved TOs, the COA said that the expenses made during their foreign travels were deemed "irregular."
Finally, COA questioned the reimbursements of P46,476.24 made for excess baggage, which was supported by official receipts from the airline company. However, it wondered why there was no justification or documentation, such as photographs, provided to support the need to pay extra fees for additional baggage.
It said the excess baggage incurred may be personal and should have been paid by the officials from their own funds.